Unity by Carl Stubblefield (epub read online books TXT) 📕

with his hands on his hips, staring at the fountain in front of the hospital. This homecoming was nothing like he had envisioned. All of his friends were gone. The Crew was going to be occupied in the Faction for who knew how long.

Rather than taking a ride back to his apartment, Gus just began walking. He didn’t even need to put any thought into it, as his display showed him a pale blue path needed to get back home without even needing to ask.

Passing a pawn shop along the way, Gus stepped in and checked out the guitars. He lost himself in playing and trying out the different ones, and settled on an amp and guitar. At first, he was worried he would get exhausted carrying it. By the time he rounded the corner of his apartment, his muscles weren’t even cramping or tired. He practiced until dark, losing track of time and escaping into his music. At least this felt like home.

Chapter Fifty-Five

Alone

Tempest contacted Gus early in the morning. Gus set down his guitar and noted it was already past two in the morning.

“Hey Gus, I didn’t think I’d catch you awake.”

“I don’t sleep well these days.”

“Well, your mom isn’t doing well, and I’m going to be staying here for a while. I hate to impose, but Aurora’s champing at the bit to get the tracker linked with the manor. It’s dropped off her tracking a couple of times and fortunately the network caught the signal. We have an unsettled score, so I agree that we need to keep tabs on that monster. I can send a courier to deliver it to you, and then give you a ride to the portal station. I hate to rush you, but—”

“You can send it now, if you want,” Gus broke in.

“Really? I thought that would be a harder sell.”

“There’s not much left for me here anymore. My friends are gone, and I want to get Mengele as bad as you. Is Mom really bad? Be straight with me, do you think she’ll recover?”

“She’s stable for now.”

“That’s not what I asked. Will she ever be the same? Like we remembered?”

There was a long silence. Gus checked his display to see if they were still connected.

At last Tempest replied, “I honestly don’t know. But I’m going to do everything I can to get her what she needs. She’s a fighter, Gus. If there’s a way, we’ll all find it together.”

“Yeah, I know. Send the courier, you know my address?”

“Of course.”

“Can I see her one more time before I leave?” Gus asked.

“I’ll send you some of my feeds. The Faction won’t let outsiders come in, especially unvetted supers. I’m sorry, Gus.”

“I get it. Well, whenever you’re ready.”

“Should be there in about an hour.”

Gus stepped through the portal and made his way to the control center on autopilot. He just felt numb as he connected the tracker, referring to the notes Aurora had left. As promised, Mengele’s ship populated the display. After making some adjustments, the computers extrapolated Mengele’s likely destination, somewhere in South Africa if he didn’t change direction. Now it was a waiting game, sitting here being useless until everyone could come back. Gus leaned back in his chair, the silence he had missed when the Crew was ever-present now felt unwelcome. Isolating and alone. But perhaps that was how things should be.

How did everything get so screwed up? This was not how things were supposed to work out. Jumping through all of these hoops only to find that it could be for nothing?

Then screwing things up with BoJack, who had been nothing but helpful. What is wrong with you, Gus?

He was surprised how his mind sought out someone else to blame. Like a dirt trail with deep ruts he was disturbed how, even after recognizing this, his brain tried to come up with even more justifications on why the blame wasn’t totally his. How Basileus was partially to blame because if he hadn’t messed with the Mandrite core, Gus wouldn’t be having the headaches. Or if he could just level like normal, or sleep, or any number of things then things would have turned out better.

Once he had seen it though, he couldn’t unsee it. This was his fault, and he couldn’t shift any of the blame. Or at least he was tired of hiding behind those excuses. Tired of always having things act upon him and him just scrambling to react. Most of all, he was tired of waiting until everything was perfect before he felt comfortable doing anything.

It was time to grow up. It was long past, actually. A super shouldn’t always be using others as a crutch. That must be what the Oracle wanted him to figure out from Prime and BoJack. They both looked at the world differently than he did. And they didn’t let all the crap hold them back or stop them from acting. As much as they seemed to have it all together, they still struggled.

He had always entertained the notion that eventually there would be a time of transition, just like in a video game. When you’ve finally got everything upgraded, and collected enough resources or have them generating passively that you don’t have to manage them constantly.

Life would never be like that. There would always be something. What had BoJack said? Life levels up in difficulty with your skills? The idea felt foreign, different from what he had always fantasized about his future. That someday things would be ideal. That day would never come.

A chime startled Gus out of his musings. He skimmed past some other battle stats and XP drops from different steps on their trip to the hospital and battle with Kenway and the three strangers.

You have leveled up the skill: True Sight to Level 2!

XP awarded: 500.

FP awarded: 1000.

1440 XP to level 21.

You have leveled up the skill: True Sight to Level 3!

XP awarded: 750.

FP awarded: 1500.

690 XP to level 21.

Well crap. There it was.